During the trend toward the use of paperboard cartons for containing cigarettes various types of hinged top cartons have been developed. Most of these cartons contain a generally rectangular top portion which is hinged along a line of fold spaced from the carton top and swingable from open to closed position. In a carton of this type it is usually desirable to have an inner lining member forming a part of the front panel which reinforces the front panel of the carton and also is overlapped by the carton top in closed position thereof to form a more effective closure. One of the difficulties with this type of carton is that the inner ply of the front panel is normally formed in a separate piece which requires complicated machinery to assemble in the formation of the package. A purpose of the present invention lies in the provision of a carton of this general type in which the member forming the liner or inner ply of the front panel is integral with the remainder of the blank at the start of the package forming operation.

In view of the low price of cigarettes, cigarette cartons must be extremely inexpensive. An object of the present invention resides in the provision of a reclosable top carton which requires no more paper board than an ordinary glued top carton of the same size.

A feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a carton having four rectangularly arranged side walls secured in tubular relation, certain of the side Walls having closure :flaps thereupon which may be adhered together to form a top closure. The remaining opposed side Walls of the carton include flaps which are hingedly connected along separable lines and which are folded into surface contact with the side walls from which they are hinged. These last named flaps form lining panels for the side walls of the carton. These last named flaps are connected by a strip of paper board which is adhered to a portion of the inner surface of the front panel of the carton forming a reinforcement for this front panel and providing an inner ply across the front panel which is overlapped by the top closure. Cut lines extend continuously across the front panel and the adjoining side wall panels and the ends of the cut lines are connected by a fold line so that the top of the carton may be folded back to provide access for the carton contents.

A feature of the present invention resides in the economy of the construction. The .flaps connected to the side walls which are folded back and adhered to the side walls and the connecting strip designed to extend across the inner surface of the front wall panel project beyond the However, three of the four closing flaps at the other end of the package are cut short so that two adjoining blanks will .dovetail perfectly together thereby requiring no more paper board than the usual paste end carton of the same size. a

A feature of the present invention resides in the provision of short ears attached to the upper edges of the side Wall lining flaps and which are connected to the remainder of these side wall lining flaps along a perfor-ated line or fold line. These projecting ears are folded inwardly of the rear panel during the formation of the carton forming rounded corners at the rear of the liner ice which simplifies the task of closing the carton once it has been opened.

These and other objects and novel features of the present invention will be more clearly and fully set forth in the following specification and claims.

In the drawings forming a part of the specification.

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the closed carton in setup condition.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the same carton in openposition.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view through the carton on a plane parallel to the side walls thereof.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view through the carton on a plane parallel to the front and rear walls "thereof.

FIGURE 5 is a diagrammatic view of the blank from which the carton is formed.

FIGURE 6 is a diagrammatic view of a portion of the flat blank at the completion of the first operation in forming the blank.

The carton A is of the type used for containing cigarettes and the like and includes a hinged top portion which may be swung back along the fold line extending across the rear panel to disclose the contents. In completed condition it is very similar to cartons which have been previously constructed and dilfers from them mainly in a simplicity of construction and low cost.

The blank A includes a rear wall 10, a side wall 11, a front wall 12, and a side wall 13, which are connected along parallel fold lines 14, 15, and 16. A glue flap 17 is connected to the side wall panel 13 along a fold line 19.

A generally rectangular top closure flap 20 is hingedly connected to the upper edge of the rear panel 10 along a fold line 20. A similar closing flap 21 is foldably connected to the upper edge of the front wall 1.2 along a continuation of the fold line 20. The two flaps 22 and 21 are designed to overlap when folded into right angular relation from the panels to which they are hinged to form a top closure.

A line of separation extends across three of the panels of the series. This line of separation includes a portion 23 which extends across the front wall 12- and connecting portions 24 and 25 which extend across the panels 11 and 13. In the particular arrangement illustrated these lines of separation are cuts entirely through the board although obviously they may be perforations or other lines of weakening. A fold line 26 extends across the rear wall panel 10 connecting the end of the cut line 24 which adjoins the fold line 14 with the end of the cut line 25 which adjoins the fold line 19 when the package is closed. A line of separation 27 also extends the major portion of the Way across the glue flap 17 so that this glue flap will tear apart when the top of the carton is folded into open position.

Flaps 29 and 30 are foldably connected to the upper edges of the side walls 11 and 13 along readily severable fold lines 31 and 32 which are substantially aligned with the fold line 20. The flaps 29 and 30 extend beyond the free edges of the closing flaps 21 and 22 and are connected by a connecting strip 33 which is foldably connected to the flap 29 along the fold line 34 and which is foldably connected to the flap 30 along the line 35. The fold lines 35 are substantially aligned with the fold lines 15 and 16 but may be slightly closer together so that the connecting strip 33 may lie inwardly of the panel 12 when the carton is formed.

Small flanges 36 and 37 are foldably connected to the flaps 29 and 30 at a point adjoining the fold lines 31 and 32 In the preferred form of construction, these flanges 36 and 37 are generally triangular in form having upper rounded corners 39 and 40 respectively and being widest at the point adjacent the fold lines 31 and 32 and tapering in thickness at their other ends. These flanges 36 and 37 are foldably connected to the flaps 29 and 30 along fold lines 41 and 42 which are angularly related to the edges of the flaps 29 and 30, these fold lines extending upwardly and forwardly of the flaps when the flaps are adhered in surface contact to the panels 11 and 13 from which they are hinged. These flanges are designed to form guides for guiding the cover of the carton into closed position once the carton has been opened.

Closing flaps 43, 44, 45, and 46 are foldably connected to the lower edges of the wall panels 10, 11, 12, and 13 along a common line of fold 47. The flaps 44 and 46 are designed to fold into a common plane and the flaps 45 and 43 are then folded into overlapping relation and are secured together to form the bottom of the carton.

It will be noted that the flaps 44, 45, and 46 are shorter than the flap 44, the difference in length being equal to the difference in length between the closing flaps 21 and 22 and the side wall flaps 29 and 30. This arrangement is provided so that two adjoining blanks in a sheet or web may be dovetailed together so that the added length of the flaps 29 and 3% does not require additional paper board. The manner in which the two blanks will dovetail together is believed obvious without further explanation.

In the formation of the blank into a carton, the first step is to fold the flaps 29 and 30 together with the connecting strip 33 along the fold lines 31 and 32 so as to lie inwardly of the portion of the panels 11, 12, and 13 which include the cut lines 23, 24, and 25. Preferably, the cut line 23 is spaced from the fold line 20 a distance greater than the length of the flap 21 so that the connecting strip 33 will project above the cut line 23 when the blank is folded to this extent. One or all of the flaps and connecting strip are adhered to the panels of the carton beneath the cut lines 23, 24, and 25, but are free of adhesion with the portion of these panels above these cut lines. When in this position, the blank appears as indicated in FIGURE 6 of the drawings.

In the particular style of carton which is disclosed the body of the carton is normally wrapped about a mandrel and the glue flap 17 secured in overlapping relation to the edge of the rear panel 10. One end of the carton is then closed by securing the closing flaps at that end of the carton in overlapping relation. The contents of the carton are then inserted and the other end closed by closing the various closing flaps. It will be noted that as the flanges 36 and 37 extend beyond the edge of the flap 29 or 30 to which they aresecured, these flanges are bent to lie inwardly of the rear Wall panel when the carton is folded. These flanges tend to remain in a slightly bent position as indicated in FIGURE 2 of the drawings thereby guiding the top of the carton into proper place as the carton is closed. The connecting strip 33 normally extends above the out line 23 and is overlapped by the portion of the front panel 12 above the .cut line 23 as is evident from FIGURES 2 and 3 of the drawings.

In accordance with the patent statutes I have described the principles of construction and operation of my cigarette package, and while I have endeavored to set forth the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that obvious changes may be made within the scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. A carton including a front wall, a rear wall, and

said front wall and side walls, a fold line extending across said rear wall and connecting the ends of said line of separation, flaps lying inwardly of said side walls and secured thereto below the level of said line of separation, said flaps extending upwardly substantially to said top closure, and flanges connected to the upper portions only of said flaps and terminating substantially above said fold line, said flanges being folded to lie inwardly of said rear panel.

2. The structure of claim 1 and in which said flanges are substantially triangular in shape, being relatively wide at the top.

3. The structure of claim 1 and in which said flanges are connected to said flaps along upwardly and forwardly converging fold lines.

4. A hinged cover carton including four wall panels hingedly connected in tubular relation, a continuous line of separation extending across three adjoining panels, a fold line extending across the fourth panel and connecting the ends of said line of separation whereby the portion of said carton above said line of separation may hinge into open position, a closing flap on said fourth panel and on the center of said three adjoining panels, a flap on each of the remaining of said three adjoining panels and folded into surface contact with the panels to which they are hinged, said last named flaps being connected to their respective panels along separable Weakened lines and extending below said continuous line of separation, and a connecting strip connecting said last named flaps and lying inwardly of said center of said three adjoining panels in substantially surface contact therewith, whereby, when said last named flaps are separated from said remaining flaps, the portion .of the carton above said line of separation may be hinged open, and including flanges foldably connected to the edges of said last named flaps adjoining said fourth panel, said flanges being folded inwardly of said fourth panel.

5. A carton blank including four wall panels foldably connected together, a line of separation extending continuously across three adjoining wall panels, a fold line extending across the fourth wall panel and positioned to connect the ends of said line of separation when said blank is folded into tubular form, a closing flap foldably connected to said fourth panel and a second closing flap on the opposite panel which is the center panel of said three adjoining panels, said closing flaps being of a length from the line of fold connecting said flaps to their respective panels greater than one half the width of the remaining wall panels, flaps foldably connected to the upper edges of said remaining panels along weakened lines of separation, said last named flaps extending beyond the closing flap connected to said opposite panel, and a connecting strip connecting the portions of said last named flaps extending beyond said closing flap conneoted to said opposite panel, said flaps on said remaining panels being of greater length from the fold lines connecting them to said remaining panels than the distance from these lines of fold to the portions of said lines of separation traversing said remaining panels, whereby, when said last named flaps are separated from said remaining flaps, the portion of the carton above said line of separation may be hinged open, and including flanges hingedly connected to said flaps on said remaining flaps and extending laterally beyond the edges of said last named flaps farthest from said closure flap on said opposite panel.